Video Testimonials

Two new videos from Unum will help you promote the value of financial protection benefits to your customers. These customer testimonials discuss the importance of long term disability benefits in maintaining financial security and protecting retirement savings, as well as the value of Unum’s return-to-work support.

These are the first two in a series of video testimonials that Unum will release over the coming months. These personal stories represent the 650,000 disabled workers who received more than $9 billion in long term disability benefits through employer-sponsored disability coverage in 2012.1 Annually, more than 1.4 million workers receive short-term disability benefits made available by their employers.2

The opportunity to grow this market is significant: Roughly 70 percent of Americans still don’t have access to disability insurance at the workplace.3 Yet our research with Consumer Federation of America shows that employees want this coverage and are willing to pay for it. When polled in 2012, 9 out of 10 workers said employers should make disability insurance available to them at work. And 86% indicated they would be willing to pay half of a $30-per-month insurance premium.4

Here’s a brief summary of these new video tools:

Joe Inger: Ongoing support through long recovery

In 2009, Joe Inger was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which affects the nerves and muscles in his feet and lower legs. Every day with the neuromuscular disease brings about a new challenge, but Joe’s disability benefits give him the financial stability he needs to focus on his rehabilitation and walking again.

“If I did not have my disability benefits, I probably would have exhausted a large amount of my 401(k) savings,” Joe says in the video. “Knowing my disability payment is in my account allows me to focus on my life, getting better, still progressing forward, interacting with friends and keeping a positive attitude.”

Joel Canfield: A back-to-work success story

Contractor Joel Canfield was injured when he fell off a ladder. After his accident, Joel says he thought he was ruined financially because he didn't have a back-up plan or safety net.

"When I found out that Unum was able to help me out with my situation, the weight of the world was taken off my shoulders," he explains in the video. "I was so relieved that it made the rehabilitiation process so much easier."

Unum will be promoting these videos through trade and mainstream media, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. The videos will be located alongside additional narrative customer testimonials in the customer stories section of the Newsroom on unum.com. Also available is this video produced by AHIP that features Unum customer Ray Topper.